Fit Ei fFCTSE ©F THE CU x i.U'lR* 0 A K L A ?if) CITY OF OAKLAND 2119 JUNMt PH 5:46 AGENDA REPORT TO: Sabrina B. Landreth FROM: Jam ie-Xu rbak---------- — City Administrator Interim Director of Library Services SUBJECT: AAMLO Programming and Chief DATE: June 4, 2018 Curator Recruitment and Library Procedures for Removing Books From the Library Collection City Administrator Approval Date: It 7 RECOMMENDATION Staff Recommends That The City Council Accept An Informational Report From City Administration On: 1) Status Of Hiring And Programming At The African American Museum And Library At Oakland (AAMLO); And 2) General Library Procedures For Removing Books From the Oakland Public Library Collection, Including Responding To Recent Issue Regarding Numerous Rare African American-Oriented Books Being Discarded. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The AAMLO is dedicated to the discovery, preservation, interpretation and sharing of historical and cultural experiences of African Americans in Qalifornia and the West for present and future generations. In addition to its unique non-circulating reference library that contains a collection of about 12,000 volumes by or about African Americans, an archival collection of over 160 collections, a museum on the second floor that hosts exhibitions that highlight African American art, history and culture, AAMLO also produces about four to six special programs each month. The AAMLO Chief Curator position is currently filled on an interim basis. The recruitment process for selecting a permanent Chief Curator was initiated in February 2018 but has been paused until the selection of a new Library Director is completed. The Oakland Public Library (“OPL" or “Library”) collection is nearly 1.2 million items of which 880,000 are print books. The library spends approximately $872,000 per year specifically on the purchase of over 26,000 print books for its collection, which represents about three percent (3%) of the total print collection. Books are officially removed from the collection to keep it responsive to patron needs, ensure its vitality and usefulness to the community, and make room for newer materials or newer formats. Item:_______ _ Life Enrichment Committee June 26, 2018 Sabrina B. Landreth, City Administrator Subject: AAMLO Programming and Chief Curator Recruitment and Library Procedures For Removing Books From the Library Collection Date: June 4, 2018 Page 2 The library has dedicated African American collections at six locations, including the Main Library, AAMLO, Brookfield, Eastmont, Elmhurst, and West branches. At the Elmhurst branch, the African American collection represents about eleven percent (11%) of the branch collection; Wid”during the one-year period May 1, 2017 through April 30, 2018, about three percent (3%) of the books removed from the collection were African American titles. These books that were removed from the Elmhurst Branch were donated to the Friends of the Elmhurst Library. BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY On April 17, 2018, the City Administrator distributed an Informational Memorandum, available to the public, that provided a status update on the national search for a permanent Chief Curator of the African American Museum and Library. On May 1,2018, a community member expressed concern that African American themed books were inappropriately discarded from the Library, specifically from the Elmhurst Branch Library. On May 4, 2018, the City Administrator distributed an Informational Memorandum about the Oakland Public Library - Collection Management Policy in response to inquiries from several Councilmembers and community members. On May 10, 2018, the City Council Rules and Legislation Committee scheduled an “Informational Report From The City Administrator On 1) The Status Of Hiring And Programming At The African American Museum And Library And; 2) Procedure For Discarding Books, Including Responding To Recent Issues Regarding Numerous Rare African American- Oriented Books Being Discarded”, as requested by Councilmembers Kaplan and Gibson McElhaney. This report is prepared in response to the Rules and Legislation Committee action. ANALYSIS / POLICY ALTERNATIVES African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) The AAMLO Chief Curator position is currently filled on an interim basis. While the recruitment process for selecting a permanent Chief Curator was initiated in February 2018, the process has been paused and will resume following the selection of a new Library Director. The City Administrator is committed to identifying a new Library Director who will be committed to the best interests of AAMLO as defined thus far by the community. On April 17, 2018, the City Administrator distributed an Informational Memorandum, available to the public, that provided a status update on the national search for a permanent Chief Curator of the African American Museum and Library. (See Attachment A.) The recruitment process for the new Library Director has commenced and several stakeholder engagement meetings to seek input from community members about the desired qualifications and attributes for the new Library Director are scheduled for the week of June 11,2018. These Item: Life Enrichment Committee June 26, 2018 Sabrina B. Landreth, City Administrator Subject: AAMLO Programming and Chief Curator Recruitment and Library Procedures For Removing Books From the Library Collection Date: June 4, 2018 Page 3 meetings will be held at various locations including the 81st Avenue Branch, Cesar Chavez Branch, Rockridge Branch and AAMLO. The AAMLO is dedicated to the discovery, preservation, interpretation and sharing of historical and cultural experiences of African Americans in California and the West for present and future generations. In addition to its unique non-circulating reference library that contains a collection of about 12,000 volumes by or about African Americans, an archival collection of over 160 collections, a museum on the second floor that hosts exhibitions that highlight African American art, history and culture, AAMLO also produces about four to six special programs each month. The program schedule for the months of February through July 2018 is described in Attachment B. OPL Collection Development Policy On May 4, 2018, the City Administrator distributed an Informational Memorandum about the Oakland Public Library - Collection Management Policy in response to a concern that African American themed books were inappropriately discarded from the OPL collection, specifically from the Elmhurst Branch Library. (See Attachment C.) Since that time, three library branches were named in public discussions about this issue - the Elmhurst Branch, Cesar Chavez Branch and West Branch. Thus, this report includes more detailed information about the books withdrawn from these specific branches. The Library spends approximately $2,000,000 on materials each year, which includes about 50.000 e-books and print books. The total library collection is nearly 1.2 million items of which 880.000 items are print books. Of the total $2 million, about $872,000 is spent on the purchase of over 26,000 print books, which represents about three percent (3%) of the total print collection. Books are officially removed from the collection to keep it responsive to patron needs, ensure its vitality and usefulness to the community, and make room for newer materials or newer formats. The OPL Collection Development Policy is attached as Attachment D. Removing books is one part of a wholistic collection management plan that also includes: • Selection and Acquisition (adding materials to collections); • Cataloging and Processing (ensuring that materials in the collection can be found); • Use of the Collection and Promotion (monitoring and promoting collections); and • Review and Withdrawal (removing materials from collections). The Library offers many collections across 16 branches, the Main Library and AAMLO, as well as electronically over the Internet. A few examples of the types of collections are: Adult; African American; Asian-American; Business; Career; Chicano; Children’s; Classics; Genealogy; Genres (Romance, Mystery, Science Fiction); Government Documents; East Indian; Ethiopian; American Indian; Local History; LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer); Parenting; Philippines; Picture Books; Test Preparation; Urban Literature; and Young Adult. Item: Life Enrichment Committee June 26, 2018 Sabrina B. Landreth, City Administrator Subject: AAMLO Programming and Chief Curator Recruitment and Library Procedures For Removing Books From the Library Collection Date: June 4, 2018 Page 4 The Library’s collections are non-archival, with the exception of the Main Library’s Oakland History Room, Magazines/Newspapers, Government Documents Repository, and AAMLO. In addition, OPL collects books in 17 languages other than English including: Amharic; Arabic; Chinese; FilphorFfeRchrHindirHmong; Japanese; Khmer; Lao; Persian; Punjabi; Russian; Spanish; Thai; Tigrinya; and Vietnamese. The OPL Collection Development Policy guides the decision-making for purchases and removals from the OPL Collection with the intent of addressing the needs of Oakland’s diverse and complex communities. Formats of collections are: • Print (books, magazines, sheet music) • Media (DVDs, music CDs, Books on CD) • E-materials (streaming movies/music, e-books, e-audiobooks, e-magazines, databases) • Electronics (laptops, tablets, wi-fi hotspots) • Miscellaneous (museum passes, seeds, tools, toys, musical instruments, bike locks) All print collections